She Kills Monsters
She Kills Monsters is a drama-comedy play by Qui Nguyen that debuted in 2011. It tells the story of Agnes Evans, an average woman who loses her parents and little sister Tilly in a car accident. Having been very distant from her sister while she was alive, Agnes embarks in an adventure to get to know her sister better by playing a Dungeons & Dragons module that Tilly had written, and discovers things she'd never imagined. The plot takes place in reality and in the imaginary game world; in the game world Agnes learns about Tilly's exploration with her sexuality and how she struggled with her sexuality in reality. Plot Agnes Evans is a completely average woman who strives to be nothing but average until the day she wishes her life was a little less boring. Her wish unfortunately comes true when her family, including her younger sister Tilly, dies in a car crash. Agnes was never close to Tilly due to the fact they were interested in completely different things; Agnes loved everything average, while Tilly had a passion for everything classified as nerdy or geeky and a special love for the Dungeons and Dragons game. As Agnes is cleaning and packing Tilly’s room in order to move everything to her new house, she finds a module Tilly had written for D&D. In order to get closer to the sister she never really knew, Agnes embarks on her own adventure with the help of a Dungeon Master to play the game as Tilly designed. As she delves deeper into her quest, the fantasy world and reality begin to collide and mix as Agnes searches to connect with Tilly and realizes how much of her sister she never knew. Character list Agnes Evans (lead): Sister of Tilly Evans, Agnes is described as striving to live an absolutely average life. She is of average height, size, and build and grew up in the average town of Athens, Ohio with average parents. In the original version of the play, Agnes is an adult who is an English teacher in a high school. In the Young Adventurer’s (YA) version, she is a senior in high school. Her boyfriend is Miles and her best friend is Vera. After Tilly’s death in the car crash, Agnes decides to go on a D&D adventure in order to feel closer to Tilly, as they never had a close relationship. Tilly Evans (lead): Deceased sister of Agnes Evans from a car crash, Tilly has a love for D&D adventures, and anything classified as nerdy or geeky. Tilly remains the same age in the original version and the Young Adventurer’s (YA) version at fifteen years old. Through the D&D module Agnes plays, it is learned that Tilly was facing her own challenges with her sexuality and bullying while she was still alive. In the game, her girlfriend is Lilith, which is later learned to be based on one of her friends named Elizabeth. Miles (supporting): Miles is the boyfriend of Agnes Evans. During the original version of the play, Miles and Agnes are in the process of moving in together, while in the YA version Miles is also a senior on the high school football team. Miles is shown to be scared of commitment in the original version for not proposing to Agnes even though they have decided to move in together; however, at the end of the play Agnes and Miles tie the knot. Orcus (supporting): Orcus is a demon of the underworld that holds onto lost souls or knows where to find them. The party travels to him first in order to ask about the Lost Soul of Athens. He later joins the party on their quest. Orcus is based on one of Tilly’s high school friends named Ronnie. Vera (supporting): Vera is Agnes’s best friend in both versions of the play, the difference being in the original she is the school’s counselor and in the YA version she works at a GAP outlet store. Chuck (supporting): Chuck was a part of Tilly’s friend group and is the Dungeon Master for the game. He helps Agnes throughout the module and introduces her to Tilly’s other friends, whom are all characters in the D&D game. Lilith (supporting): Lilith is a Demon Queen that also resembles a leather-clad dominatrix. She is dating Tilly in the D&D game. Lilith is based on Tilly’s high school friend Elizabeth who also struggles with own her sexuality but admits that they were each other’s first kiss and to loving Tilly after Agnes gives her a letter written by Tilly to her. Kaliope (supporting): Kaliope is a Dark Elf that is described as a supermodel. She is based on Tilly’s high school friend Kelly, who is the sister of Ronnie. Narrator (featured): Describes the events going on in the story and gives background description of the reason behind the story and the characters of Agnes and Tilly. The narrator looks and sounds like Cate Blanchett from The Lord of the Rings. Steve (featured): Steve is a recurring character in reality and in the D&D game. In the game he is a mage that usually is on the receiving end of bosses showing how powerful they are, resulting in his death multiple times over. Farrah (featured): Farrah is one of the bosses Agnes and her party must face before they can reach the final boss. She is a fairy who is very powerful. Succubi: Evil Gabbi and Evil Tina (featured): Evil Gabbi and Evil Tina are both cheerleader succubi that torment Tilly in particular about her sexuality both in the D&D game and when she was alive. They are based on Tilly’s high school bullies. Productions She Kills Monsters received its Off-Off-Broadway debut at The Flea Theater in New York City on November 4, 2011 and it ran until December 23. Directed by Robert Ross Parker, the production was performed by the resident company of actors of The Flea Theater called The Bats. The original production featured the following cast: * Agnes Evans - Satomi Blair * Tilly Evans - Allison Buck * Chuck - Jack Corcoran * Steve - Edgar Eguia * Orcus - Raul Sigmund Julia * Miles - Bruce A. Lemon * Kalliope - Megha Nabe * Lillith - Margaret Odette * Vera/Succubus - Brett Ashley Robinson * Farrah/Narrator/Succubus - Nicky Schmidlein The play was presented later at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago from February 15 to April 21, 2013. Steppenwolf Theatre|website=www.steppenwolf.org|access-date=2019-12-08}} It was directed by Scott Weinstein and it featured the Buzz22 Chicago Company as the cast: * Agnes Evans - Katherine Banks * Tilly Evans - Jessica London-Shields * Chuck - Richard Traub * Steve - Jose Nateras * Orcus - Morgan Maher * Miles - Fred Geyer * Kalliope - Rinska Carrasco-Prestinary * Lilith - Sara Sawicki * Vera - Daeshawna Cook * Evil Tina/Farrah - Allie Long * Evil Gabbi/Narrator - Ellie Reed The play reprised at the Company One Theatre from April 13 to May 11, 2013 directed by Shira Milikowsky with the following cast: *Agnes Evans - Paige Clark Perkinson * Tilly Evans - Jordan Clark * Chuck - Mike Handelman * Steve - Noam Ash * Orcus - Stewart Evan Smith * Miles - Jordan Sobel * Kalliope - Adobuere Ebiama * Lilith - Meredith Saran * Vera - Jamianne Devlin * Evil Tina/Farrah - Kaitee Tredway * Evil Gabbi/Narrator - Jacqui Baker She Kills Monsters was presented at the Rorschach Theatre in Washington, DC in two different productions, both directed by Randy Baker. A 2014 production ran from August to September 14, and it was revived in 2019 running from October 18 to November 10. Awards and Nominations Designer Jessica Pabst was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design for the play's 2012 production. The play received a nomination at the 2012 GLAAD Media Award in the category of Outstanding New York Theater: Off-Off Broadway. It additionally received the 2012 ITBA Patrick Lee Award for "Outstanding Off-Off Broadway Play" 2011-2012 Patrick Lee Theater Bloggers Awards Independent Theater Bloggers Association (ITBA)|date=2012-06-05|website=Let's Talk Off Broadway|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-08}} and the AATE Distinguished Play Award in 2013. References * Category:2011 plays Category:American plays Category:Comedy-drama plays Category:Fiction set in 1995 Category:Plays set in the 1990s Category:Plays set in Ohio Category:LGBT-related plays Category:Works about sisters Category:Dungeons & Dragons